Be Cool: Ultimate 120/140 mm Fans Roundup. Page 25

After a month of hard work and numerous experiments on a new unique testbed we are proud to offer you a roundup including 57 models of fans from 25 different product series collected from all over the world.

Thermaltake TurboFan (A2491, A2492)

Thermaltake Company will be represented in our today’s roundup with a few other fans – TurboFan model from 2008. This lineup includes two fans: 120x120x25 mm and 140x140x25 mm. They are shipped in plastic boxes with cardboard inserts inside:

The insert contains detailed info about the fans and their technical specifications. Each fan is bundled with only four screws, and the power cable ends not with a traditional three- or four-pin mainboard connector, but with a common PATA-connector, which may be extremely inconvenient for those users who prefer automatic (performed by the mainboard) or manual (performed by special controllers) fan management:

You can easily notice that Thermaltake TurboFan fans boast uniquely shaped blades that originate from the cone-shaped center and curve like the blades of the WWII airplane propellers:

According to the manufacturer, the blades of this particular shape attached to a cone-shaped rotor increase the airflow while retain a considerably low level of noise. In fact, all our today’s testing participants try to create an optimal combination of these two fan parameters, and in a few rarer cases also increase the static pressure.

Four rectangular supporting rods holding the fan inside the frame are not that compact. Besides, there is a groove for the cable inside each of them (except the rod that hold the primary power cable):

Looks like Thermaltake were going to release a TurboFan fan with LED lighting that’s why they made these grooves. However, so far we know nothing about a fan like that.

120 mm TurboFan model rotates at a constant speed of 1400 RPM (±140 RPM), while the 140 mm model rotates at a constant speed of 1000 RPM (±200 RPM). Both models create the same airflow if 50 CFM and general very similar noise of 16 and 17 dBA respectively. However, their static pressure is more than twice as different: it is claimed to be at 0.7 mmH2O for the 120 mm fan and only 0.3 mmH2O for the 140 mm fan. You already know that even the modest GELID Silent working at 1500 RPM boasts 1.6 mmH2O static pressure. It indicates clearly that Thermaltake TurboFan fans weren’t designed with high static pressure in mind. In fact, you can tell that the blades of t particular shape can’t support high static pressure:

Both models use sleeve bearing with 30,000 hours declared MTBF. There are no innovations of any kind introduced in these bearings, so there is nothing to tell here.

Both fan models have the same electrical specifications: 6 V startup voltage, 0.3 A current, 3.6 W power consumption. The recommended price of Thermaltake TurboFan is $9 for a 120 mm fan and $12 for a 140 mm fan.

Now let’s check out the test results:

Strange as it might seem, but old Thermaltake fans performed much better than the new ISGC 12. Although we can’t say that about the 140 mm model, because its creates even lower airflow than a 120 mm model, but consumes more power and generates more noise. Too bad that TurboFan 120 mm turned out an overall noisy fan, because it creates relatively high airflow even at pretty low rotation speed of 700 RPM, which is considered to be its acoustical comfort zone. The 120 mm model starts up at 3.6 V, while 140 mm model powers up at even lower 2.1 V.